Ducks sign veteran defenseman Hedican

Seeking a boost for a popgun attack that has produced only 15 goals in seven games, the Ducks have signed veteran offensive-minded defenseman Bret Hedican (left).

The one-year, $870,500 deal, which will pay Hedican a pro-rated amount of $800,000, will be officially announced Thursday afternoon. The move leaves the Ducks approximately $400,000 below the NHL's $56.7 million salary cap.

Hedican, 38, was an unrestricted free agent who spent the past five seasons with the CarolinaHurricanes but has not played this season. He had two goals, 17 points and 70 penalty minutes in 66 games last season.

Hedican arrived in Ottawa on Thursday afternoon and could make his Ducks debut Friday night against the Senators at Scotiabank Place, although Saturday's road date against the Montreal Canadiens is probably more likely.

"I'm very excited about this situation," Hedican said. "I'm really excited about this hockey team. Obviously, everybody talks about their slow start, but I just see all the potential on this team. The great thing about it is they've won. A lot of these guys have won the Stanley Cup. When it comes down to crunch time, they're going to know how to do it."

Hedican, a key member of Carolina's 2006 Stanley Cup championship club, is likely to be paired with Chris Pronger, with the hope being that those two can provide a second solid tandem to go with Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin.

"I had him (Hedican) before," said Ducks general manager Brian Burke, who held the same position with the Vancouver Canucks when Hedican played there in 1998-99. "He has great mobility, even though he's an older player now. He's a good puck-moving, good-skating defenseman. We need that right now. We're getting hemmed in our own end a little more than we should."

Hedican, who is married to 1992 Olympic figure-skating gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, skated three days each of the past two weeks at St. Cloud State University, where he played college hockey from 1988-91.

A native of St. Paul, Minn., Hedican played for the U.S. Olympic hockey team in 1992 and 2006. He has appeared in 988 career NHL games, having also played with the St. Louis Blues and Florida Panthers, totaling 54 goals and 288 points. He has also played in 108 career playoff games, contributing two goals and 11 points in 25 games for the Hurricanes in 2006.

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